Reclining chair of the double movement type



Oct. 24, 1961 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,005,661

RECLINING CHAIR OF THE DOUBLE MOVEMENT TYPE Filed Oct. 27, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

F'Q 07JOF A S CHL IEPHA CKE Oct. 24, 1961 F. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,00

RECLINING CHAIR OF THE DOUBLE MOVEMENT TYPE Filed 001;. 27, 1958 sSheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR. FIP/DTJOF F. .5 CH1 IE PR4 C85 Oct. 24, 1961F-. F. SCHLIEPHACKE 3,

RECLINING CHAIR OF THE DOUBLE MOVEMENT TYPE Filed. Oct. 27, 1958 sSheets-Sheet a FIG. 4.

INVENTOR.

F/Q/DTJOF F. SCHZ lEPf/A CKE Arron/vars United States Patent 3,0ll5,661RECLINING CHAER OF THE DOUBLE MOVEMENT TYPE Fridtjof F. Schliephacke,Berlin-Schmargendorl, Germany, assignor to Anton Lorenz, Boynton Beach,Fla. Filed Oct. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 769,714 laims. (Cl. 29784) Thepresent invention relates to improvements in reclining chairs and inparticular to a new and improved leg-rest and seat control structure fora reclining chair of the double-movement type.

The usual reclining chair customarily includes a seat and a back-restmounted on a support frame for movement between an upright sittingposition and a reclining position in which the back-rest isrearwardly-tilted and the seat is inclined. The chair structure alsogenerally includes a movable leg-rest which is provided with a controland actuating mechanism which is coupled to the seat and/or to theback-rest for coordinated movement of the leg-rest with the seat andback-rest. The leg-rest is disposed in a retracted position beneath thefront end of the seat when the seat and back-rest are in their uprightsitting position, and is then moved by the leg-rest linkage to anextended leg-supporting position forwardly of and substantially at thelevel of the seat when the seat and back-rest are brought to theirreclining position.

A recent development in reclining chairs has been the double movementtype of chair in which the seat and back-rest are constructed andarranged to be moved through a first motion phase to an intermediate orsemireclined position and then through a second motion phase to afully-reclined position. In the intermediate or semireclined position,the occupant of the chair is supported in a relaxed but stillsubstantially upright attitude for reading, sewing, viewing television,or the like. In the fully-reclined position, the occupant is supportedin an attitude of repose for complete relaxation. In this doublemovement type of chair, it is required that the leg-rest be brought toits extended leg-supporting posi tion in the intermediate semi-reclinedposition of the chair and be maintained in extended position at thelevel of the seat in the fully-reclined position of the chair.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a V reclining chairof the double movement type which includes an improved seat controlmechanism for inclin ing the seat by raising the forward portion thereofin the intermediate or semi-reclined position of the chair, and

then by automatically guiding the seat to a further inclined positionrelative to the back-rest in the fullyreclined position of the chair.

Another object of the invention is the provision, in a reclining chairof the character described, of a leg-rest control linkage adapted toactuate and guide the leg-rest to an extended leg-supporting position inresponse to movement of the seat and back-rest to their intermediatesemi-reclined position, and is also adapted to maintain the leg-restsubstantially at the level of the seat when the seat and back-rest arethen moved to their fullyreclined position.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a reclining chairof the character described in which the seat control mechanism andleg-rest control mechanism are inter-related for cooperative automaticaction in coordinating movement of the leg-rest with movement of theseat and in maintaining the leg-rest at the level of the seat during themovement of the chair parts from the semi-reclined to the fully-reclinedposition.

According to my invention, I provide a reclining chair of the doublemovement type having a back-rest which is pivotally mounted on thesupport frame and a seat connected to the back-rest for rearwardmovement in response to rearward pivoting movement of the back-rest. Anactuating link is operatively connected to the seat for rearwardmovement therewith. A seat control assembly is provided to guide theseat as the latter is moved rearwardly, this assembly including a rearguiding link which is pivotally mounted on the support and a frontguiding link pivotally mounted on a main guiding link. The main guidinglink is pivotally mounted on the support and is maintained in aninactive position when the back-rest and seat are moved through a firstmotion phase from an upright sitting position to an intermediatesemireclined position. A leg-rest is also provided with means mountingit on the seat for movement from a retracted position to an extendedposition, and a leg-rest control structure is provided for raising theleg-rest to its extended position in response. to rearward movement ofthe body-supporting structure during the first motion phase. Theleg-rest control structure includes a lever which is pivotally mountedon the main guide link and is connected at one end to the actuating linkand at the other end through an intermediate linkage to the leg-rest.When the seat is moved rearwardly during the first motion phase, theactuating link turns the lever upon the stationary main guide link,causing it to raise the legrest to its extended position through saidintermediate linkage. At the end of the first motion phase, the mainguide link is coupled with the actuating link in such a -manner as to beraised by said actuating link when the back-rest and seat are movedduring the second motion phase, and the seat is then guided in itsrearward movement by the main guide link and the rear guide link. Theupward movement of the main guide link also raises the leg-rest controlstructure with it so that the leg-rest is retained in extended positionduring the second motion phase.

The above brief description will be more fully appreciated andadditional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following specification, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating severalillustrative embodiments of the invention, and in which:

PEG. 1 is a side elevational view of a double movement type of recliningchair made in accordance with the present invention, showing said chairin its upright sitting position, .with portions thereof broken away orshown in section to reveal inner constructional details;

FIG. 2 is a similar side elevational view of the chair shown in FIG. 1,but illustrating the chair in its intermediate or semi-reclinedposition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 but showing thereclining chair thereof in its fully-reclined position;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of a modified embodiment of recliningchair made in accordance with the invention and incorporating adiiferent type of leg-rest ther titlted to its fully-reclined positionof FIG. 3.

3 control structure, the chair being shown in its upright sittingposition;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the chair shown in FIG. 4 butillustrating the intermediate or semi-reclined position of thestructure; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5, but showing thechair illustrated therein in its fullyreclined position.

Referring in detail to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1-3,there is shown a reclining chair made in accordance with the presentinvention and designated generally by the reference numeral 10. Thereclining chair It) includes a support frame 12 having opposed sidewalls 14 and 16 which are rigidly connected by suitable cross bars orbraces such as cross bars 18 and 18a, and preferably raised above thefloor level by depending legs 24 of any suitable type.

A body-supporting structure, comprising a back-rest 22 and a seat 24, ismovably mounted on the support frame 12 between the side walls 14 and16. At its lower end, the back-rest 22 is pivotally mounted on aback-rest pivot 26 aflixed to the support frame 12, so that saidback-rest may be rearwardly tilted about said pivot 26 to itssemi-reclined position shown in FIG. 2, and then fur- The seat 24 isconnected to the back-rest by a link 28, one end of which is pivotallyconnected to the seat at 34 and the other end of which is pivoted to theback-rest 22 at a point 32 located above the back-rest pivot 26. It willthus be appreciated that when the back-rest 22 is pivoted rearwardly,the seat 24 is drawn rearwardly with it through the agency of the link28, with the result that the seat is moved rearwardly as a function ofthe rearward tilting movement of the back-rest.

The chair also includes a seat control assembly for the purpose ofguiding the movement of the seat 24 as the latter is moved rearwardly inresponse to rearward pivoting movement of the back-rest 22. Said seatcontrol assembly includes a rear guide link 34 and a front guide link36. The rear guide link 34 is pivotally mounted at one end on thesupport frame 12 by a pivot 38, and is connected at its top end to therear end of the seat 24 by the pivot 30.

At its top end the front guide link 36 is pivoted to the seat 24 at apoint 40 spaced a substantial distance forwardly of the rear end of theseat. At its bottom end, the front guide link 36 is mounted by pivot 42on a main guide link 44, the latter being mounted at its rear end on thesupport frame 12 by a pivot 46. In the vicinity of the pivot 42, themain guide link 44 rests upon the cross brace 18 of the support frame12, and is normally maintained in this position by the weight of theseat 24 acting through the front guide link 36. This position of themain guide link 44 constitutes an inactive position thereof in which thesaid main guide link 44 serves as a fixed portion of the support frame12. In the first motion phase of the chair parts, when the seat andback-rest are moved to the intermediate semi-reclined position of FIG.2, the front guide link 36 pivots rearwardly about its pivot 42 on theinactive and immovable main guide link 44.

When the chair is in the upright sitting position of FIG. 1, the frontguide link 36 is inclined forwardly and upwardly from its pivotalconnection 42 on the main guide link 44 and the rear guide link 34 isinclined upwardly and forwardly from its pivotal mount 33 on thesupport. Thus, when the seat 24 is moved rearwardly with the back-rest22 in the first motion phase the front and rear guiding links34 and 36pivot rearwardly to guide the seat in a substantially horizontal planein a rearward direction, although as the guide links'34 and 36 approacha vertically upstanding attitude they lift the seat somewhat relative tothe support frame. In the second phase of movement of the chair parts,from the intermediate semireclined position of FIG. 2 tothe'fully-reclined position of FIG. 3, the forward portion of the mainguide link 44 is engaged and moved rearwardly by the leg-rest actuatingmeans for further tilting movement of the seat 24, in a manner whichwill be presently described.

It will be noted that instead of being mounted on the seat at 30, thefront end of the link 28 may be pivotally connected to the rear guidelink 34 at a point slightly below the pivot 30, in which event the link28 will still perform its function of drawing the seat rearwardly withthe back-rest. In any event, it will be seen that the guiding means forthe seat is a four-bar linkage consisting of guide links 34 and 36, theportion of the seat 24 between pivots 30 and 40, and, as the stationarylink, the portion of the support frame between pivots 38 and 42. Thedrive or actuating means for the seat is a second four-bar linkageconsisting of rear guide link 34, link 28, the portion of the back-rest22 between pivots 26 and 32, and the portion of the support betweenpivots 26 and 38. The rear guide link 34 is common to both four-barlinkages.

The chair shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 also includes a legrest 46 pivotallymounted on the front end of the seat 24 for movement from a retractedposition beneath the seat, shown in FIG. 1, to various extendedleg-supporting positions forwardly of the seat, as shown in FIGS. 2 and3. The leg-rest 46 has a rigid, rearwardly-connected hanger bar 48, thefree end of which is pivotally connected at 50. to the front end of theseat 24. Actuating means are also provided to cause the leg-rest topivot upwardly about its pivot 50 to the various extended positions inresponse to movement of the body-supporting means to the reclinedpositions. Such leg-rest actuating means includes a link or lever 52, aconnecting link 54, and an actuating link 56. The lever 52 is mountedintermediate its ends on the forward end of the main guide link 44 by apivot 58. One end of said lever 52 is connected to the forward end ofthe actuating link 56 by a pivot 60, the other end of sad lever 52 beingpivoted at 62 to the rear end of the connecting link 54. The front endof the connecting link 54 is pivoted at 63 to the leg-rest 46 and/or tothe hanger bar 43. The rear end of the actuating link 56 is connectedwith a portion of the structure such that said actuating link 56 will bedrawn rearwardly in response to rearward pivoting movement of thebackrest 22. For example, the rear end of the actuating link may beconnected to the seat 24 at pivot 30, in the manner illustrated, so thatif it is mounted on the seat coaxially with the links 28 and 34, as analternative, the actuating link 56 may be pivotally connected at aspaced point on the seat, or upon the rear guide link 34, so long as itis drawn rearwardly with the seat and back-rest.

As was previously explained, the main guide link 44 remains in "itsinactive position of FIG. 1 during the first motion phase of the chair.Consequently, the pivot 58 mounting the lever 52 on said main guide link44 is a fixed and immovable pivot While the body-supporting structure ismoving from the sitting position to the intermediate semi-reclinedposition. the seat 24 during the first motion phase drawsthe actuatinglink 56 rearwardly and causes the actuating link to exert a rearwardforce on the lower arm 64 of lever 52, effecting a pivotal movement oflever 52 in a direction to move its upper arm 66 forwardly. Such forwardmove ment of the upper lever arm 66 thrusts the connecting link 54 in aforward and upward direction to raise the leg-rest 46 to its extendedposition of FIG. 2, substantially at the level of the front end of theseat 24.

A blocking member or car 68 is rigidly formed with the bottom end of thelever 52. As the actuating link 56 is drawn rearwardly with the seat 24during the first motion phase, the lever 52 is turned about its pivot 58and the blocking member or ear 68 moves into abutment with the forwardend of the main guide linkv44 in the manner shown in FIG. 2. Suchabutment of the blocking member 68 with the link 44 prevents furtherrearward movement of the actuating link 56 relative to the stationarymain guide link 44 and therefore temporarily Rearward movement of ihalts further rearward movement of the actuating link 56, seat 24 andback-rest 22 to define the intermediate semi-reclined position of FIG.2. It will be apparent that the stop member 68 may be placed at theforward end of the actuating link 56 rather than at the bottom of thelever 52 as illustrated, to effect the same blocking result. Since theactuating link 56 is now restrained from further rearward movementrelative to the main guide link 44, further rearward movement of theseat and back-rest can now be effected only by upward and rearwardmovement of the main guide link 44 about its pivotal mount 45. Thus,when the body-supporting structure is moved from the intermediatesemi-reclined position of FIG. 2 to the fully-reclined position of FIG.3, the actuating link 56 is again drawn rearwardly with the seat 24, butduring this second motion phase said actuating link 56 is coupledthrough the blocking member 68 with the main guide link 44 so that itraises the forward end of the latter.

A stop member 76 is formed rigidly with the support frame 12 and islocated to engage the front guide link 36 at the end of the secondmotion phase to stop further rearward movement of said front guide link,and therefore of said seat 24 and back-rest 22, thereby defining thefully-reclined position of the chair shown in FIG. 3.

The operation of the reclining chair may be readily appreciated by acomparison of the chair positions shown in FIGS. 1-3. When the chairoccupant is seated in the chair in the upright sitting positionillustrated in FIG. 1 and wishes to move the chair structure to areclining position, he exerts rearward pressure against the back-rest22, causing the back-rest to pivot rearwardly upon its pivotal mount 26.This rearward pivoting movement of the back-rest 22 draws the link 28and the seat 24 rearwardly. As the seat moves rearwardly, it is guidedby the rear and front guide links 34 and 66 which pivot upwardly andrearwardly on their respective pivots 38 and 42.

During this first motion phase of the seat 24 and back-rest 22 from thesitting position of FIG. 1 to the intermediate semi-reclined position ofFIG. 2, the main guide link 44 remains stationary in its inactiveposition resting upon the cross brace 18. The front guide link 36 pivotsupwardly on the inactive main guide link 44, the latter acting as afixed portion of the support frame during this first motion phase.terminated by engagement of the blocking member or ear 68 with theforward portion of the main guide link 44, as previously described.

During the movement of the seat and back-rest from the upright sittingposition to the intermediate semi-reclined position, the leg-restcontrol linkage is actuated to raise the leg-rest 46 from its retractedposition of FIG. 1 to its extended position of FIG. 2. Such extension ofthe leg-rest is effected by rearward movement of the actuating link 56relative to the stationary main guiding link 44, and the lever mount 58carried thereby. As the actuating link 56 moves rearwa-rdly with theseat 24 and rear guide link 34, it pulls the lower lever arm 64rearwardly, causing the lever 52 to turn about its intermediate pivot 58such that its upper arm 66 moves in a forward direction, therebythrusting the connecting link 54 forwardly and upwardly to raise theleg-rest 46 to its extended position of FIG. 2.

Upon conclusion of the first motion phase, the occupant may return thechair to the sitting position of FIG. 1 by shifting his weightforwardly, or he may apply further rearward pressure against theback-rest to bring the chair to the fully-reclined position shown inFIG. 3. In the latter event, the application of further rearwardpressure by the occupant will cause a rearward shift in the center ofgravity of the seat and back-rest, which will be effective to cause themain guide link 44 to be drawn upwardly and rearwardly about its pivot45. In pivoting upwardly, the main guide link 44 now The first motionphase is acts as the front guide means for the seat 24 as the latter ismoved reanvardly, the main guide link 44 and fiont guide link 36 actingas a unitary front seat control link the length of which is the distancebetween pivot 40 and pivot 45. Since this effective length is greaterthan the length of the rear guide link 34, the forward end of the seat24 is now raised relative to the rear end thereof, to incline the seatin the fully-reclined position of the chair. This rearward movement ofthe back-rest 22 and seat 24 in the second motion phase continues untilthe front guide link '36 engages with and is stopped by the stop member70 in the extreme fully-reclined position of the chair shown in FIG. 3.

In the movement of the chair structure during the sec and motion phase,the main guide link 44 is rigidly and immovably locked with the lever 52by the blocking member 63 so that the lever 62 and the connecting link54 are raised with said main guide link 44 and the legrest is thereforemaintained in an extended position forwardly of the front end of theseat 24. During the up ward movement of the leg-rest control linkage inthe second motion phase, a slight angular displacement oc curs betweenthe lever 52 and the connecting link 54 with the result that theleg-rest 46 is lowered slightly relative to the seat 24. The leg-rest,however, is still maintained in a leg-supporting position at the frontof the seat 24 and is still located substantially at the level of theseat in alignment with the proper contour of the body in thefully-reclined position.

Referring now specifically to FIGS. 4-6, there is shown in diagrammaticform a modified construction of reclining chair which is similar to thatshown in FIGS. 1-3, except that the leg-rest is provided with adiflierent type of guiding linkage. For convenience, similar structuralelements in the embodiments of FIGS. 4-6 are identified by the samereference numerals as those in FIGS. l-3, as part of a series.

The reclining chair 11f) again includes a support frame 112, abody-supporting structure comprising a back-rest 122 mounted by pivot126 on the support frame 112, and a seat 124 connected by a link 128 tothe back-rest 122 at a point 132 above the back-rest pivot 126.

The seat 124 is guided for movement by a pairof guide links 134 and 136.The rear guide link 134 is connected at its top end to the seat at pivotand at its bottom end is mounted on the support frame 112 by a pivot138. The front guide link 136 is connected at its top end to the seat bypivot 140, while its bottom end is mounted, by pivot 142, upon the mainguide link 14 4. The main guide link 144 is mounted on the support frame112 by pivot 145 and normally maintained in the stationary, inactiveposition shown in FIG. 4, resting upon a cross brace 118 or other fixedportion of the support frame.

For actuation of the leg-rest 146, the chair again is provided with alever 152 pivotally mounted at 158 intermediate its ends on the frontend of the main guide link 144. Again, a connecting link 154 is providedto connect the upper lever arm 166 with the leg-rest guiding linkage,the rear end of said connecting link 154 being pivoted at 162 to theupper lever arm 166. The lower lever arm 164 is pivotally connected atto the forward end of the actuating link 156. The lever 152 is againprovided with a blocking member or car 168 positioned to engage the mainguide link 144 in the intermediate, semi-reclined, position of the chairshown in FIG. 5.

A stop member 170, forming a rigid part of the support frame 112 ispositioned to engage the front guide link 136 at the end of the secondphase of movement of the chair in order to define the fully-reclinedposition thereof, shown in FIG. 6.

The aforementioned parts of the chair 11G illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6are identical with those of the chair 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3 andpreviously described. Modified means are, however, provided to supportthe leg-rest 146 and guide the latter for movement between its retractedposition and its extended position. The leg-rest 146 is carried by apair of links 172 and 174 which are mounted at spaced points on saidleg-rest by respective pivots 176 and 178. The links 172 and 174 areconnected in end-to-end relationship with respective depending links 180and 182 by pivots 184 and 186. The top ends of the depending links 180and 182 are mounted at spaced points on the forward portion of the seat124 by respective pivots 188 and 190. The link 174 crosses over thedepending link 180 and is connected at its crossing-over point by pivot192. The front end of the connecting link 154 is pivotally connected toone of the depending links such as the rear depending link 182 at point194 located between pivots 186 and 190.

In this embodiment of the invention, the leg-rest linkage constitutes aninterconnected double four-bar linkage, one four bar linkage beingformed by the depending links 180 and 182, the portion of link 174between pivots 186 and 192, and the portion of the seat 124 between thepivots 188 and'190. The other four bar linkage is formed by link 172,the portion of link 174 between pivots 178 and 192, the portion ofdepending link 180 between pivots 184 and 192, and the portion of theleg-rest 146 between the pivots 176 and 178. Thus, it will be apparentthat in following my invention, the legrest need not beipivotallymounted directly on the seat as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3,but may be provided with indirect four-bar linkage suspensions such asthe type shown to produce a greater forward extension of the leg-rest orother desired leg-rest movements.

The movement of the back-rest 122 and seat 124 to the intermediatesemi-reclined position of FIG. 5 and then to the fully-reclined positionof 'FIG. 6 is identical to the movements described in connection withthe structure of FIGS. 1-3. As the back-rest 122 is pivoted rearwardly,the seat'is drawn by link 128 in a rearward direction causing theactuating link 156 to also move in a rearward direction.- The seat isguided rearwardly by pivoting movement of the rear and front guide links134 and 136, while the actuating link 156 turns the lever 152 about itstemporarily fixed pivot 158 to raise the leg-rest 146 to its extendedposition. At the intermediate semi-reclined position, the blockingmember 168 on the lever 152 engages the main guide link 144, therebyblocking further movement of. the actuating link 156 relative to themain guide link 144. As the back-rest is pivoted to the fully-reclinedposition, the first main link 144 then pivots upwardly, cooperating withfront guide link 136 to guide the forward portion. of the seat 124 andto cause the seat to take an inclined attitude.

As the structure is moved rearwardly from the sitting position of FIG.5, the actuating link 156 exerts a rearward pulling force on the lowerarm 164 of lever 152, causing said leverto turn about the pivot 158,

whereby its upper arm 166 thrusts the connecting link' 154 in a forwardand upward direction. The connecting link 154, through its pivotalconnection 194, thereby moves the depending link 182 forwardly andupward- 1y about its pivot 190 to raise the leg-rest to its extendedposition of FIG. 5, the links 172, 174 and 188 cooperating to bring theleg-rest 146 to a horizontally-disposed attitude forwardly of the seat.

When the body-supporting structure is moved to the fully-reclinedposition of FIG. 6, the lever 152 and connecting link 154 are movedupwardly with the main guide link 144, and the leg-rest 146 is thusmaintained in its extended position substantially at the level of theseat.

While several preferred embodiments of my invention have been shown anddescribed herein it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made in such embodiments without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A reclining chair comprising a support, a back-rest and a seatmounted on the support, for movement through a first motion phase froman upright sitting position to an intermediate semi-reclined position,and for further movement through a second motion phase to afully-reclined position, a front and rear guide link for guiding theseat as the latter is moved relative to the support, a main guide linkpivotally mounted on the support, means supporting said main guide linkin an inactive position, during theiirst motion phase, the rear guidelink being pivotally mounted on the support and the front guide linkbeing pivotally mounted on the main guide link, the seat being movablerearwardly during said first motion phase in which it is guided byrearward pivoting movement of the front and rear guide link, andactuating means remote from said front guide link and engaging the mainguide link for turning the latter about its pivotal mount on the supportduring said second motion phase, whereby during further rearwardmovement of the seat, the latter is guided by the rear guide link and bythe main guide link and front guide link moving as a unit, saidactuating means having a lost motion movement relative to the main guidelink during the first motion phase.

2. A reclining chair comprising a support, a backrest pivotally mountedon the support, a seat, means connecting the seat to said back-rest forrearward movement of the seat in response to rearward pivoting movementof the back-rest, and seat control means for guiding the seat through afirst motion phase from a sitting position to an intermediatesemi-reclined position and for further movement through a second motionphase from the intermediate position to fully-reclined position, saidseat control means including a front and rear guide link for guiding theseat as the latter is moved with said backrest during said first motionphase, a main guide link pivotally mounted on the support and resting inan inactive position during the first motion phase, the rear guide linkbeing pivotally mounted on the support and the front guide link beingpivotally mounted on the main guide link, the seat being movablerearwardly with the back-rest during said first motion phase in which itis guided by rearward pivoting movement of the front and rear guidelink, and means for turning the main guide link about its pivotal mounton the support at said intermediate semi-reclined position wherebyduring further rearward movement of the seat through said second motionphase, the latter is guided by the rear guide link and by the main guidelink and front guide link moving as a unit, the latter means includingan actuating link pivotally mounted on the seat and movable rearwardlytherewith relative to the stationary main guide link during the firstmotion phase and means carried by said actuating link and positioned toengage the main guide link at the intermediate semi-reclined positionfor operatively connecting said actuating link rigidly with the mainguide link.

3. A reclining chair comprising a support, a bodysupporting structurecomprising a seat and back-rest, said back-rest being pivotally mountedon the support, means connecting the seat to said back-rest for rearwardmovement of the seat in response to pivoting movement of the back-rest,a front and rear guide link for guiding the seat as the latter is movedwith said back-rest, a main guide link pivotally mounted on the supportand resting in an inactive position, the rear guide being pivotallymounted on the support and the front guide link being pivotally mountedon the main guide link, the seat being movable rearwardly with theback-rest during a first motion phase in which it is guided by rearwardpivoting movement of the front and rear guide link to an intermediatesemi-reclined position, means rigidly coupling said front guide link andmain guide link at said intermediate semi-reclined position for turningthe main guide link about its pivotal mount on the support during asecond motion phase in which the seat is guided for further rearwardmovement by the rear guide link and by the main guide link and frontguide link moving as a unit, a leg-rest, and leg-rest control means formoving the leg-rest from a retracted position beneath the 'seat to anextended position forwardly of said seat, said leg-rest control meanscomprising an actuating link connected to a portion of saidbody-supporting means for movement therewith, a lever pivotally mount edintermediate its ends on the main guide link, means connecting one armof the lever to said actuating link, and means operatively connectingthe other arm of the lever to said leg-rest.

4. A reclining chair comprising a support, a back-rest pivotally mountedon the support, a seat, means connecting the seat to said back-rest forrearward movement of the seat in response to pivoting movement of theback-rest, a front and rear guide link for guiding the seat as thelatter is moved with said back-rest, a main guide link pivotally mountedon the support and resting in an inactive position, the rear guide linkbeing pivotally mounted on the support and the front guide link beingpivotally mounted on the main guide link, the seat being movablerearwardly with the back-rest during a first motion phase in which it isguided by rearward pivoting movement of the front and rear guide link, aleg-rest, and leg-rest control means for moving the legrest from aretracted position beneath the seat to an extended position forwardly ofthe seat, said leg-rest control means comprising an actuating linkoperatively connected to said seat for movement therewith, a leverpivotally mounted intermediate its ends on the main guide link, meansconnecting one arm of the lever to said ac tuating link, meansconnecting the other arm of said lever to said leg-rest, and blockingmeans carried by said leg-rest control means and positioned to engagesaid main guide link at the end of said first motion phase to rigidlycouple the actuating link and said main guide link, whereby the mainguide link is pivoted upwardly by said actuating link and the seat isguided at its front end by said main guide link and front guide linkacting as a unit in a second motion phase, the lever being carriedupwardly by said main guide link to maintain the leg-rest in extendedposition during said second motion phase.

5. A reclining chair according to claim 4 in which said blocking meanscomprises a blocking member rigid with said lever.

6. A reclining chair comprising a support, a back-rest pivotally mountedon the support for rearward pivoting movement, a seat connected at itsrear end to said back-rest for rearward movement in response to rearwardpivoting movement of said back-rest, said back-rest and seat beingmovable through a first motion phase from a sitting position to anintermediate semi-reclined position and subsequently through a secondmotion phase from said intermediate to a fully-reclined position, seatcontrol means for guiding said seat, a leg-rest, and legrest controlmeans for moving the leg-rest from a retracted position beneath the seatto an extended position forwardly of the front end of the seat duringsaid first motion phase, said seat control means including a main guidemember pivotally mounted on the support and resting in an inactive andimmovable position during said first motion phase, a front guide linkand a rear guide link for guiding said seat during movement of thelatter in said first motion phase, the front guide link being pivotallymounted on the main guide member and the rear guide link being pivotallymounted on the support, said front and rear guide links being connectedto spaced points on the seat, said leg-rest control means including anactuating link operatively connected to said seat for movementtherewith, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said guidemember, means coupling one arm of said lever to said actuating link foractuation of said lever by rearward movement of said actuating link withthe back-rest during the first motion phase, means coupling the otherarm of said lever to said leg-rest, and blocking means positioned torigidly couple said actuating link with said main guide member at theintermediate semi-reclined position, whereby said main guide member ismoved by said actuating link during the second motion phase for guidingof the seat by said rear guide link and by said main guide member andfront guide link'acting as a unit.

7. A reclining chair according to claim 6 in which the leg-rest controlmeans also includes a hanger arm rigid with the leg-rest and pivotallymounted on the front end of the seat, and a connecting link connectingsaid hanger arm to said other arm of the lever.

8. A reclining chair according to claim 6 in which the leg-rest controlmeans also includes a pair of depending links pivotally mounted atspaced points on the forward end of the seat, a pair ofrearwardly-extending links pivotally mounted at spaced points on theleg-rest, pivot means interconnecting said depending links andrearwardly-extending links to form a double four-bar linkage mountingthe leg-rest on the seat, and a connecting link pivotally coupled to oneof said depending links and to said other arm of the lever.

9. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means including aseat and back-rest mounted on said support for inclining and recliningmovement respectively, and means for controlling the inclining movementof seat as a function of said reclining movement of said back-rest, saidcontrolling means including a rear guide link movably mounted on thesupport, a main guide link movably mounted on the support, a front guidelink movably mounted on said main guide link, said front and rear guidelinks being respectively connected to the front and rear portions ofsaid seat, means coupling said seat to said back-rest for rearwardmovement of the seat in response to reclining movement of the back-rest,said front and rear guiding links guiding said seat and inclining thesame during a first motion phase in which said seat is brought to anintermediate semi-reclined position, means supporting said main guidelink in an inactive position during said first motion phase whereby saidinactive main guide link serves as a fixed support for the front guidelink, and actuating means movable with the seat in a lost motionmovement relative to the main guide link during the first motion phaseand engaging said main guide link at said intermediate semi-reclinedposition and rigidly couplng said front guide link with said main guidelink for subsequent simultaneous movement about the movable mount of themain guide link on the support during a second motion phase in which theseat is further inclined to a fully-reclined position.

10. In a reclining chair, a support, body-supporting means including aseat and back-rest mounted on said support for inclining and recliningmovement respectively, and means for controlling the inclining movementof seat as a function of said reclining movement of said back-rest, saidcontrolling means including a rear guide link movably-mounted on thesupport, a main guide link movably mounted on the support, a front guidelink movably mounted on said main guide link, said front and rear guidelinks being respectively connected to the front and rear portions ofsaid seat, means coupling said seat to said back-rest for rearwardmovement of the seat in response to reclining movement of the back-rest,said front and rear guiding links guiding said seat and inclining thesame during a first motion phase in which said seat is brought to anintermediate semi-reclined position, means supporting said main guidelink in an inactive position durng said first motion phase whereby saidinactive main guide link serves as a fixed support for the front guidelink, a lever pivotally mounted on 3,005,661 11 12 said main guide link,link means connecting said lever References Cited in the file of thispatent to said rear guide link for movement of said lever therewithrelative to the inactive'main guide link during UNITED STATES PATENTSsaid first motion phase, and blocking means carried by 1,846,797 DeckerFeb. 23, 1932 said lever and positioned to engage said main guide linkat 5 2,871,919 Schliephacke Feb. 3, 1959 said intermediate semi-reclinedposition for coupling said 2,918,109 Schliephacke Dec. 22, 1959 rearguide link with said main guide link during a second 2,918,113 LorenzDec. 22, 1959 motion phase in which the front guide link and main guidelink turn in unison about the movable mount of the main FOREIGN PATENTSguide link on the support to further incline the seat to a 10 797,178Great Britain June 5 5 fully-reclined position.

